Vehicle search-light.



E. VON SZUPPINY.

VEHICLE SEARCH LIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-310M915.

1,196,499. Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

IN l/E/V TOR i 00/? 5Za U UOZ .4 TTORNEYS EDMUND vox SZUPPINY, or PATERSON, NEW JERSEY.

VEHICLE SEARCH-LIGHT.

.Jpecification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

Application filed November 30, 1915. Serial No. 64,229.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDMUND VON SzUP- PINY, a subject of the King of Hungary, and a resident of Paterson, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Vehicle Search- Light, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to headlights or. searchlights adapted especially for automobiles or other vehicles where it is desirable to vary the effect of the light with respect to distance ahead;

Among the objects of the invention is to rovide a Searchlight having movable or ad- ]ustable lens devices.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the driver of the vehicle may shift or move the adjustableportions of the lens so as to cause the light to be projected forwardly or a portion of it to be deflected downwardly or closely in front of the vehicle.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed herein, .still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which Figure l is a front elevation, partly in section, of a preferred embodiment of my invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same on the line 2-2; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the intermediate movable section or seetor of the lens; and Fig. 4 is a diagram indicating a development in plan of the movable parts of the lens, the purpose of this figure being to show the relative forms of these parts with respect to their meeting edges.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings I show a Searchlight comprising a reflector 10 of any well known or approved form and construction, in the focus of which is located a lamp 11. At the front edge of the reflector is secured a rolled flange 12 forming a neat finish for the reflector and constituting a means for securing or supporting the lens devices in place.

For the sake of illustration of suitable lens devices, but by no means limiting myself unnecessarily to any particular type or vexity .of the lens.

design of reflecting or retracting means, I provide in the upper portion of the holder 12 a semicircular lens 13 of double convex form through which therays of light emerging from the reflecting surface of the reflector 10 will be refracted toward one another in front of the Searchlight a distance determined accordin to the amount of conhis part, 13 of the lens is fixed and stationary and is of such a nature that the. intense glare so objectionable in high power lamps is avoided. In the focal center of the fixed lens 13 is arranged a projecting lug 14 constituting a bearing having a plurality of radially arranged sockets 15. The lower edge of thisextension 14 may be formed with a spherical surface, if desired, to rovide a close contact for the parts described below for cooperation therewith.

The lower half of the lens as a whole consists of a plurality of adjustable or movable members each of which comprises -a plurality of lens elements of different character, means being provided whereby the driver of the vehicle may move or adjust these movable parts so as to shift all'of the movable parts at the same time and therebyvary the character of the lamp as a whole with respect to the light thrown thereby ahead of the vehicle. These movable parts are substantially sector-shaped and are three in number, eachof them being pivoted for movement around an axis radial with respect to the center of the searchlight. These sectors are indicated by reference characters 16, 17 and 18. As shown best in Fig. 3, each sector comprises two lens portions of different optical character, one portion a being shown herein as of double convex form corresponding substantially to the form of the fixed lens 13, and the other portion indicated at I) being of prismatic form or having a flare downwardly for the purpose of refracting the rays from the lower portion of the reflector downwardly and laterally and thereby preventing the iiitense rays of light to be carried far forwardly in front of the vehicle. Each sector is fitted at its apex with a trunnion l9 journaled in one of the sockets 15, and at its lower or base end it is fitted with another trunnion 20 journaled in the inner portion 12' of the lens holder 12. By this means the sectors are adapted to be swung around the axes of said trunnions so as to bring either part a or 1) into the plane of the fixe tors 16 and 18 will be refracted downwardly and .laterally,.but from none of the sectors will the rays of light pass forwardly to any great distance, nor upwardly. lVhen, however, the sectors are rotated through a quarter of a rotation so as to bring the parts a into the plane of the fixed lens, they will serve to effect practically a complete double convex lens and thereby the light will be refracted toward the axis of the lens and concentrated at a point in front of the searchlight according to the specific form of the lens and beyond such point the light will be diffused. In other words, when the sectors are adjusted as last described, the most powerful effect will be used for lighting the roadway ahead, but when adjusted as shown in Fig. 2, the light will be concentrated upon the roadway closely in frontof the vehicle.

The edges of the sectors where they engage each other may be beveled as indicated so as to positively limit the movement thereof tothe plane of the fixed lens.

Any suitable means may be provided whereby the operator or driver of the vehicle may control the position of the sectors. The means I show for this pur ose includes a pinion 21 secured to each 0 the trunnions 20 within the holder 12. An areshaped bar 22 is guided in guides or keepers 23 for sliding movement circumferentially of the lens devices and is provided with as many racks 24 as there are pinions 21 with which they mesh. When the bar 22, therefore, is moved lengthwise through its guides 23, all of the movable sectors are caused to rotate correspondingly. A sprocket chain 25 is shown connected with a sprocket wheel 26 on one of the trunnions 20, and thereby this trunnion is adapted to be rotated and through it the bar will cause the rotation of the others in the same direction and at the same time.

I claim 1. The herein described Searchlight comprising a reflector, a lamp within the reflector, a fixed lens of a certain character in one part of the reflector, a movable lens device in another part of the reflector and comprising elements of different optical character arranged in planes at right angles to each other, and means to cause the last mentioned element to be mow-d so as to bring the plane of either of its parts into the plane of the first mentioned lens.

2. In a Searchlight, the combination with a reflector, a lens holder secured to the front edge thereof, and a lamp within the reflector, of lens devices comprising a fixed member secured in the upper portion of the holder and of a certain optical character, a plurality of movable lens elements secured in the lower portion of the holder, each of said elements being movable and comprising lens portions of different optical character, and means for moving all of the last mentioned elements simultaneously so as to bring portions of like optical character simultaneously into the plane of the fixed lens.

3. In a Searchlight, the combination with a reflector, a lens holder adjacent the front edge thereof and a lamp within the reflector, of lens devices comprising a semi-circular lens fixed in lace within the upper portion of the holder and a plurality of sector-shaped lens elements movably mounted in the lower half of the holder, each of the movable elements comprising portions arranged at right angles to each other and of different optical character, and means to control the position of the movable elements.

4. In a searchlight, the combination of a holder, a semi-circular convex lens secured in one portion of the holder, a plurality of sector-shaped lens elements movably mounted in another portion of the holder, each of the movable elements comprising two portions arranged at right angles to each other, one portion being of a convex character, and means to control the position of the movable elements so that all of the portions of either character may be brought into the plane of the first lens.

5. In a Searchlight, the combination of a holder, a fixed lens secured in said holder and adapted to refract the light in a certain direction, a plurality of mqvable lens elements mounted in the other portion of the holder, each of the movable lens elements comprising portions arranged at an angle to each other in fixed relation, one portion of each movable element being adapted to retract the light in the same manner as the fixed lens and the other portion thereof in a. different manner, and means to control the position of the movableelements.

6. In a Searchlight, the combination of a holder, a fixed lens in one .portion of the holder having an optical character adapted to retract the light therethrough'in a certain direction, and a movable lens element secured in another portion of the holder, said movable element comprising two lens portions arranged at an angle to each other in fixed relation, said lens portions of the movable element being adapted to be brought in alternation into the same plane as the fixed lens, one rtion servingl when so adjusted to refract t 10 light theret rough in the same direction as the fixed lens, and the other portion when brought into such plane being adapted to refract the light in a difierent direction; and means to control the position of the movable element.

7 In a searchlight, the combination of a holder, :1 semi-circular lens secured in fixed peosition in one half of the holder, said lens ing provided with a bearing lug at its optical center, a series of sector-sha ed lenses journaled for rotation around ra ial axes in the other half of the holder and in said lug, each of said movable elements com- 15 into the plane of the fixed lens simul- 20 taneously.

EDMUND VON SZUPPINY.

Witnesses:

ROBERT D. BUCKLEY, ROBERT H. EDMOND. 

